NEWS

Many Canadian families are eagerly awaiting news from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to find out if they will have a chance to be reunited with their parents, and even grandparents, under the Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship (PGP) program.

Each year we have faced different conditions under the PGP: in 2015 applicants had to submit complete applications on the first working day in January and the quota of 5,000 applicants was filled in one or two days. Then in 2016 and 2017 IRCC increased the quota to 10,000 and moved to a lottery system. However, the lottery system was fraught with problems as many people signed up that did not qualify (they did not have the necessary income for the past three years to be able to sponsor) which resulted in delays and it is not ultimately clear if IRCC was able to meet its quota in each of those years.

The latest news that was released in August 2018 is with regards to the 2019 PGP program. Here is what we know so far:

Since IRCC has been able to reduce its backlog of applications from 167,000 in 2011 to just over 20,000 in 2018, it has allowed been able to increase the quota for 2019. The 2019 quota under the PGP is set to be 20,000 applications.

The system will no longer be a lottery and will be based on the order in which you register your interest to sponsor.

Beginning at the start of 2019, if you are eligible to sponsor your parents or grandparents, you will be able to register an “expression of interest”. IRCC will issue invitations to apply to eligible applicants until the 20,000 quota for 2019 is met based on the order in which files are submitted.

If you submit an expression of interest and are selected you will only have 90 days to submit a complete application or risk losing your chance to sponsor.

If you are interested in sponsoring your parents, here are 5 important points to understand: ​1. In order to be eligible to sponsor your parent or grandparents you will need to meet the eligibility requirements, the most important of which is that you must have had sufficient income for the past three years. The minimum level of income you need will depend on the number of people in your family and the number of people you want to sponsor. For example, for a family of 3 that want to sponsor their parents, they have to have at least the following income: 2017: $67,400, 2016: $66,654, and 2015: $65,377.

You will also need to meet the minimum income for 2018 which has not yet been announced but will be slightly higher than the 2017 amounts. And you will also need to meet all the income requirements until the time your application to sponsor is finalized. The minimum income levels for 2015, 2016 and 2017 based on number of family members are as follows:

NOTE: The above amounts apply to residents of all province except Quebec. ​

2. If the number of people in your family has changed in the last 3 years you should pay close attention. For example, if you were a couple in 2015 but had a child in 2016, then your family unit now consists of 3 people but consisted of 2 people in the earlier year. The question is what level of income should you have? There is no clear guidance on this from IRCC but in order to minimize any risk you should count on having the higher income level based on the number of family members you currently have.3. If your own income is not sufficient to sponsor your parent(s) or grandparent(s), it is possible for your husband or wife to act as co-signer for the application and have his or her income count towards meeting the income requirements. You should be aware that if your co-sponsor changes his or her mind or there is a breakdown of marriage you may not longer be able to meet the income requirements at the time your application is being considered in the future and therefore will not be eligible to sponsor your application.

4. When you sponsor your parents or grandparents you give an undertaking that they will not use public assistance for a period of 20 years from the time of their landing in Canada. This is a binding undertaking and if the people you sponsor access public assistance you will be required to pay back these sums, often times with interest and penalties. If you have a co-signer this is a binding obligation on your co-signer as well.

5. Planning ahead can help you ensure that you are ready to submit a complete application. Unfortunately details of how the PGP will work in 2019 have not been announced but I have been working with clients over the past few weeks to assess their eligibility and have started to gather all their documents. If you are interested in applying to sponsor your parents or grandparents you should start your preparation process as soon as possible and if necessary seek out professional assistance to assist you in this process.

Once again there is good news for thousands of applicants who tried to sponsor their parents or grandparents earlier this year. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada ran a lottery for those interested in sponsoring their parents in the spring and issued 10,000 invitations to apply. The deadline for submitting these applications was May 25, 2018.

I wrote in my article in December that IRCC would likely not receive 10,000 applications, despite efforts that IRCC made to ask additional questions to ensure those registering for the lottery actually qualified. The prediction was correct and IRCC is now allowing a second round of applications for the parent and grandparent sponsorship program. 8500 new applicants have been chosen and they will have 60 days to submit their complete sponsorship applications to IRCC.

If you registered your interest to sponsor your parents or grandparents in January but were not previously chosen you should check your inbox for an email from IRCC. You can also check the confirmation number here: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/family-sponsorship/sponsor-parents-grandparents/selected.html

If you are one of the lucky applicants who has been chosen, make sure to review all the eligibility requirements and submit a complete application. IRCC is very strict and I have seen applications returned for missing a single signature, an old photo or one copy instead of an original.

Eligibility Requirement for Parent & Grandparent SponsorshipIn order to sponsor, you must:

be 18 years of age or older;

be a Canadian citizen, Registered Indian or permanent resident;

be sponsoring your parent or grandparent;

live in Canada;

sign an undertaking promising to provide for the basic requirements of the person being sponsored for a period of 20 years;

sign an agreement with the person you are sponsoring that confirms that each of you understands your mutual obligations and responsibilities;

prove that you have sufficient income to provide the basic requirements for your family members in Canada as well as the persons included in your sponsorship undertaking. You may also have a co-signer.

​The minimum necessary income requirement is based on the size of your family and the number of people you are sponsoring and is assessed based on your income from the three years preceding your application. For example for a family of three sponsoring both their mother and father, the applicant (along with a potential co-signer) would need to show income of at least $65,377 in 2015 and $66,654 in 2016 and $67,400 in 2017. This amount varies based on the number of people in the family and those being sponsored. The income is verified based on proof of income from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

Note: This information is not intended as legal advice or opinion. You should always seek specialized legal advice with regards to your situation as the facts of each case are unique and the application of law varies in every case.

The results of the 2018 Parent and Grandparent (PGP) Sponsorship lottery were announced beginning on 19 March 2018 and thousands of families across Canada received good news emails inviting them to submit applications to sponsor their parents or grandparents.

In 2017 Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”) introduced a new “lottery” system to select applicants to fill its quota of 10,000 applications. In 2017 more than 95,000 people registered with IRCC and while the 2018 numbers have not been released it will be at least the same if not more than last year.

If you are one of the lucky families that has been selected to submit a PGP sponsorship application you must act fast as applicants only have 60 days to submit a complete application.

Check your email (including your spam folder) or use the confirmation number to look up if you were selected online

Ensure that you meet the eligibility criteria (refer to my previous articles available on the Salam Toronto website) and if there are any questions regarding your eligibility you should speak with an immigration lawyer immediately

Gather all the required documents for yourself and your parents – whether you are applying for yourself or with the assistance of a representative, it is extremely important that your application is complete and meets all the requirements. I have unfortunately seen applications returned for missing a single check mark or photograph so it is imperative that you submit a complete application

While the key requirement for PGP sponsorship applications is the minimum necessary income you must show as the sponsor there are often complex questions that arise. In order to meet this income requirement, you can combine your income and that of a co-signer for the past three years. The co-signer can be your spouse or common-law partner. The co-signer must also be eligible to sponsor and co-sign the undertaking of support for the period of 20 years. What happens if the number of people in your family changes (you become married or a child) during the three years that you have to show income? What if you lose the support of your co-signer as part of the application? In these cases you should consult with an immigration lawyer as soon as possible to ensure that you are able to submit a successful application.

The amount of income you must have depends on the size of your family and the number of people you are sponsoring. For example, if you are a family of three sponsoring both your mother and father, you (along with a potential co-signer) need to show income of at least $65,377 in 2015 and $66,654 in 2016, and $67,400 in 2017. This amount varies based on the number of people in your family and those being sponsored. Your income over the three year period is verified based on proof of income from the Canada Revenue Agency.

Given the short period of time you have to submit your application you should try to submit your PGP application as soon as possible. If you were not lucky enough to receive an invitation do not give up and keep your confirmation number: last year not all the people who were selected in the first round submitted their applications and there was a second round announced in August 2017.

The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship gave those who want to sponsor their parents or grandparents an early holiday present by announcing that the sponsorship program will open for registration on 2 January 2018.

In 2017 Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”) introduced a new “lottery” system to select applicants to fill its quota of 10,000 applications. In 2017 more than 95,000 people registered with IRCC. This year, the system will work in a similar manner and starting on Tuesday 2 January 2018, if you want to sponsor your parents or grandparents you can register your interest by submitting the “Interest to Sponsor” form online.

The 2018 registration process will have one important difference: the registration process will ask more questions to ensure you actually meet the key eligibility requirements before completing the registration process. So what are the eligibility requirements? In order to be eligible to sponsor your parent or grandparent you must meet the following minimum requirements:

18 years of age or older;

a Canadian citizen, Registered Indian or permanent resident;

sponsor your parent or grandparent;

live in Canada;

sign an undertaking promising to provide for the basic requirements of the person you are sponsoring for a period of 20 years;

sign an agreement with the person you are sponsoring that confirms that each of you understands your mutual obligations and responsibilities; and

prove that you have sufficient income to provide the basic requirements for your family members in Canada as well as the persons included in your sponsorship undertaking.

The key requirement is the minimum necessary income you must show to support your sponsorship application. In order to meet this income requirement, you can combine your income and that of a co-signer for the past three years. The co-signer can be your spouse or common-law partner. The co-signer must also be eligible to sponsor and co-sign the undertaking of support for the period of 20 years.

The amount of income you must have depends on the size of your family and the number of people you are sponsoring. For example, if you are a family of three sponsoring both your mother and father, you (along with a potential co-signer) need to show income of at least $64,791 in 2014, $65,377 in 2015 and $66,654 in 2016 (the income figures for 2017 have not been announced yet). This amount varies based on the number of people in your family and those being sponsored. Your income over the three year period is verified based on proof of income from the Canada Revenue Agency.

There are a number of factors that prevent you from being able to sponsor such as if you are in receipt of social assistance (for any reason other than disability) or you are in default of a previous sponsorship undertaking, an immigration loan or family support payments. If you meet the eligibility requirements and are able to register your interest, here are some important tips to help you to sponsor your loved ones:

Review your tax filings and gather your Notice of Assessments for the last three years. If you have a co-signer, gather and review their documents as well. If your income (combined with your co-signer) is sufficient you can register online.

Consider that your co-signer has to agree to be part of your application until the permanent residence visa is issued for your parents or grandparents. If you believe that there is any reason why you may lose the support of your co-signer you should carefully consider whether you meet the eligibility requirements by yourself.

If you register yourself or use the services of an authorized representative (immigration lawyer or licenced immigration consultant) you should make sure to hold onto the registration code that is generated and check the email address you provide for the application process. There may be more than one selection round so you should keep your registration code safe to be able to check if there are subsequent rounds of selection.

If you are chosen to submit a sponsorship application you have a short period of time (likely 90 days) to submit your complete application including all original signed forms and supporting documents. Therefore you should be ready and able to compile the required documents for yourself and your parents very quickly.

And even if you sign up by yourself, make sure you do not lose your winning lottery ticket. IRCC is known to return applications that are missing a single signature or document. In order to be successful you have to submit a perfect sponsorship application either by yourself or with the assistance of an experienced lawyer. Good luck!

Adopting a child and welcoming him or her into your family is a beautiful and complex process. If you choose to adopt a child from outside of Canada, you will also need to think about how to bring your newest family member to Canada.

International adoptionThe legal process of adopting a child is governed by the laws of the country where the child lives. Countries often have strict requirements for who qualifies as an adoptive parent and the process they have to go through in order to obtain legal status as a parent. Many countries also limit the ability of non-nationals to adopt children, making the international adoption process even more complex.

Since 1996 Canada has been party to the Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Intercountry Adoption, also known as the “Hague Convention”. The Hague Convention was established to help regulate international adoptions with respect to the best interests of the child and with respect for their fundamental human rights. It is also intended to help prevent the child trafficking. Canada's commitments under the Hague Convention inform its own requirements for what is an acceptable adoption. Therefore, in order for an adoption to be accepted by Canadian immigration authorities, the adoption must meet the following requirements:

The adoption must be in the best interests of the child.

The adoption will create a genuine relationship of parent and child.

The adoption is in accordance with the laws of the place where the adoption took place and the laws of the country of residence where the adoptive parents reside.

The adoption must not have been entered into primarily for the purpose of acquiring immigration or citizenship status.

The adoption must not have occurred in a manner that circumvented the legal requirement for international adoptions.

In addition, if the adopted person is 18 years or older, a genuine relationship of parent and child must have existed between the adopted person and the adoptive parent before the adopted person turned 18 year old and at the time of the adoption.

As adoption laws and adoption authorities can vary greatly from country to country it is important that you obtain accurate advice from a lawyer or adoption agency in the country to understand the local requirements and processes before you embark on this journey.

How can you bring your child to Canada once the legal adoption process is complete?Your options to bring your adopted child to Canada will depend on your legal status at the time of adopting your child. You can generally use either the “citizenship process” or “immigration process” to bring your child to Canada. Under the citizenship process, if you meet the requirements that are summarized below, your child will become a Canadian citizen and will enter Canada as a citizen. Under the immigration process, your adopted child will be granted permanent residence status and will obtain a permanent residence card upon landing in Canada. They can then become a citizen by meeting the requirements for naturalization.

Citizenship Process:If one of the adopting parents is a Canadian citizen at the time of adoption you can apply for a direct grant of citizenship for your adopted child. Under this process there is no need for a medical examination that is required for potential immigrants to Canada. It is important to note that an adopted child who obtains citizenship in this manner may be affected by the law limiting citizenship by descent that I wrote about last week as they are born outside of Canada.

Immigration Process:If neither of the adoptive parents are Canadian citizens at the time of adoption they will have to use the immigration process to sponsor their child to become a permanent resident in order to come to Canada. Also, adoptive parents who are citizens but subject to the first generation limit to citizenship by descent (and do not fall into one of the exceptions) will have to sponsor their children to obtain permanent residence. As this is an immigration process, your adopted child will have to undergo all necessary immigration checks including medical examinations, and in the case of non-minor children background and security checks are also required.

While the adoption and immigration process can seem complex at the outset, knowing the legal requirements and fully understanding the process can help make the journey a smoother one. Speaking with an experienced immigration lawyer and finding the right adoption agency to guide you through the process can be the first step towards bringing home your newest family member.

What is family reunification?One of the important pillars of Canada’s immigration policy is the goal of “family reunification”, the attempt to keep families together and to reunite families who may be separated before and after immigration. Unfortunately, immigration often leads to the separation of family members and I am certain that every reader will know of at least one family that has been separated and faced the devastating negative impact of the separation on their health and ability to integrate into Canada. The goal of family reunification recognizes this challenge and is an attempt to reduce the negative impact by helping new immigrants, as well as long-established citizens, to be reunited with certain members of their family.

Family Class ImmigrationThe federal Family Class immigration program receives thousands of applications each year and consists of the following categories:

Sponsorship of spouses, partners or dependent children

Sponsorship of parents and grandparents

Sponsorship of adopted children

In exceptional circumstances, sponsorship of other relatives

There are also certain provincial programs that may allow someone living in that province to be able to support an application of a close relative to be able to come to Canada.

The definition of what counts as “family” in Canada’s family reunification program has become more restricted over the years. Missing from these categories is an opportunity to easily sponsor extended family members such as brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles. Nevertheless, these categories are still fairly generous and are processed relatively fast compared to family programs in other countries.

It is important to note that the goal of family reunification is balanced against other important policy interests such as preventing fraud and ensuring that the overall economic impact of family class immigration is positive. In the interest of preventing fraud, Canada has taken and continues to take steps to verify information and documents to prove genuineness of relationship and prevent misuse of the program. One such measure introduced by the previous Conservative government was to only grant conditional permanent residence for two years to sponsored spouses. This was intended to deter those who only wanted to marry a Canadian permanent resident or citizen to come to Canada and intended to leave their Canadian partner within a short time of receiving their permanent residence. The current Liberal government has eliminated this conditional residence but they have introduced more rigorous requirements for documentation to prove that a relationship is real before a permanent residence visa is issued.

Eligibility to SponsorIf your relative qualifies under one of the four categories listed above, you may be able to sponsor them if you can show at a minimum that:

You are a Canadian citizen or permanent residence and are at least 18 years old

You are able to support your relative(s) financially when they arrive

You undertake that your relative(s) will not use social assistance from the government for 3 to 20 years (depending on the category)

And in some cases, you can show that your income is sufficient to support your immediate family as well as the person(s) you are sponsoring

There are additional requirements for each category as well. For example, to sponsor your husband or wife, you will need to show that you have not used social assistance and that your relationship is genuine. In the case of parents or grandparent sponsorship, you must demonstrate that you have sufficient income declared in your tax returns for the past three years to support yourself, your own family as well as your parent or parents that you are sponsoring. If you are sponsoring a dependent child, he or she must have been previously declared and examined when you immigrated to Canada in order to him or her to qualify as a family member that you can sponsor.

In each case you will benefit from analyzing your case carefully with a lawyer to ensure that you are qualified to sponsor and that your relative is eligible to be sponsored. In the coming weeks, I will be writing about these different categories and some of the important issues that you should be aware of when applying to sponsor relatives under each category.

One of the important objectives of Canadian immigration policy is family reunification. There are opportunities, albeit limited, for citizens and permanent residents to be reunited with their closest family members. Canadian citizens and permanent residents can sponsor spouses, dependent children and in some cases their parents or grandparents if they meet the criteria set out by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Canada's programs have become more restrictive over the past two decades. Specifically the parents and grandparent sponsorship program (PGSP) was closed for three years and reopened in 2014 with a quota of just 5,000 applications. The program operated on a first-come, first-served basis and in each year the annual quota was filled in a matter of days. This year, IRCC announced that it would increase the quota to 10,000 applications and introduced a new lottery system for selecting those who can apply to sponsor.Interested applicants were given the opportunity to register their interest to apply for the PGSP online. It is estimated that more than 95,000 people registered their interest to participate in the program between January 3 to February 2, 2017. On 24 April 2017 IRCC began sending responses to the thousands of successful and unsuccessful registrants. The responses were only sent by email and applicants have been provided with a limited time to apply. The deadline for submitting complete applications is 90 days from the date the notices were sent (around 24 July) and is fast approaching. There is an important catch: even those who have been lucky enough to be selected in this year's lottery should carefully assess if they are eligible to apply and meet all the requirements of the program. There was no assessment of whether the 95,000 registrants met the minimum requirements, which means that there are going to be registrants who received good news emails but cannot submit a successful application to sponsor. All registrants who receive positive emails from IRCC should ensure that they meet all the legal requirements (such as having the necessary minimum income for the three years preceding the date of application: see summary below) and that they submit a complete application. Incomplete and ineligible applications will be returned by IRCC. IRCC's latest efforts are an attempt to make the system more fair and further reduce the backlog of sponsorship cases, which at their peak reached upwards of 100,000 applications in 2011. Up to now IRCC has received less than 1,000 applications from the 10,000 invitations they sent out in April. While more applications are anticipated to reach IRCC as we get closer to the deadline there may not be enough applications to fill this year's quota. It is not yet clear what IRCC will do but there is a chance that they may run another lottery for qualified applicants later in the year.

If you are not one of the lucky qualified applicants invited to apply this year, do not worry. There are still other options for inviting your parents or grandparents to join you in Canada, albeit on a temporary basis such as the supervisa or a multiple entry visitor visa. And, of course, there is always next year or the next round of the lottery.

Eligibility Requirement for Parent & Grandparent SponsorshipIn order to sponsor, you must:

be 18 years of age or older;

be a Canadian citizen, Registered Indian or permanent resident;

be sponsoring your parent or grandparent;

live in Canada;

sign an undertaking promising to provide for the basic requirements of the person being sponsored for a period of 20 years;

sign an agreement with the person you are sponsoring that confirms that each of you understands your mutual obligations and responsibilities;

prove that you have sufficient income to provide the basic requirements for your family members in Canada as well as the persons included in your sponsorship undertaking. You may also have a co-signer

​The minimum necessary income requirement is based on the size of your family and the number of people you are sponsoring and is assessed based on your income from the three years preceding your application. For example for a family of three sponsoring both their mother and father, the applicant (along with a potential co-signer) would need to show income of at least $64,791 in 2014, $65,377 in 2015 and $66,654. This amount varies based on the number of people in the family and those being sponsored. The income is verified based on proof of income from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

Note: This information is not intended as legal advice or opinion. You should always seek specialized legal advice with regards to your situation as the facts of each case are unique and the application of law varies in every case.

Note: This information is not intended as legal advice or opinion. You should always seek specialized legal advice with regards to your situation as the facts of each case are unique and the application of law varies in every case.